HEADLINES

Dave Canales

Coaching Notes: Cardinals, Lions, Packers

January 22nd, 2018 at 9:12pm CST by GregGoldstein

New Cardinals hire Steve Wilks will be bringing in some of new faces to the coaching staff. One of the biggest changes will be at defensive coordinator as he appears to be poised to bring his former Panthers colleague Al Holcomb to lead the defense. This means that former defensive coordinator James Bettcher will be on the way out, according to Mike Jurecki of ArizonaSports.com (Twitter link).

Jurecki does make sure to note that Bettcher will “land on his feet” with another organization that he’s actively looking for other opportunities around the league. These next few weeks will be a quick change for Bettcher, who was in the final group to be considered for the Cardinals vacant head coaching job.

Here’s more coaching stories to follow:

  • While Wilks will be making multiple changes to the Cardinals coaching staff, that doesn’t mean that there’s going to be a complete overhaul. The new first-time head coach is likely to keep some members from Bruce Arians‘ staff on board for next season, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (Twitter link). While many new coaches like to make their imprint on the organization through bringing in new coaches onto the team, there’s also something to be said for trying to keep some of the same voices that players have been hearing from throughout the past few years.
  • The Lions will be letting go of their quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan, sources tell Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). As I noted before, it’s not unusual for new head coaches to turnover their staff, but Breer adds that this move is a little surprising because Callahan is well-regarded around the league and will have a number of teams looking to bring him in for 2018. It’s been rumored that he could be a potential candidate for the Titans vacant offensive coordinator gig.
  • Meanwhile, the Seahawks have made a decision on who their next quarterbacks coach will be. The team has officially promoted Dave Canales from wide receivers coach to working with Seattle’s signal callers next year, a source tells Alex Marvez of the Sporting News (Twitter link). Canales has been on Pete Carroll‘s staff since 2010 and was previously promoted to the WR coach position back in 2015. Although, this move doesn’t necessarily signal that the Seahawks will move on from former QB coach Carl Smith. Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times hears that Smith could be shifted to a different role (Twitter link).
  • The Packers have added a new coach from the college ranks. Mike McCarthy has hired Ryan Downward from Bowling Green to help work on the team’s defensive staff. Downward worked as Bowling Green’s safeties coach for the past two seasons and previously worked for new Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine back when he coached in Cleveland.

Seahawks Notes: T. Jackson, Archer, Bennett

May 10th, 2015 at 4:56pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While contract talks between the Seahawks and Russell Wilson seem to be stalled, Seattle is interested in continuing negotiations with another quarterback: backup Tarvaris Jackson. We heard last month that the club was still talking with the 31-year-old Jackson, and today head coach Pete Carroll told reporters, including Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link), that the Seahawks want to bring Jackson back.

Here’s more from the Pacific Northwest, with all links going to Condotta’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

  • If Seattle isn’t able to reach an agreement with Jackson, fellow quarterback R.J. Archer, who owns a 90-man roster spot, could see more time, and Carroll praised the play of Archer today. The 27-year-old Archer, who has spent most of his professional career in the CFL, has never appeared in an NFL game.
  • Carroll said that he has no concerns about the status of defensive lineman Michael Bennett. Bennett recently stated that though he wouldn’t mind a salary increase, he isn’t angling for a trade as was previously reported.
  • Receivers coach Kippy Brown is in the process of retiring, and assistant quarterbacks coach Dave Canales will take over his role. Canales has been with the Seahawks since 2013.
  • Several tryout players earned praise from the Seattle staff, including receiver Kasen Williams, and offensive linemen Kona Schwenke and Jesse Davis (Twitter link via Terry Blount of ESPN.com). As both scribes note, any of the aforementioned players could be favorites to land a contract in the coming days.